You people like to send me things that fall into two categories:
1. Things I cannot afford.
2. Things to demonstrate the extent to which my life is sad.

THANKS!

This 1884, Italianate mansion in Savannah, has a listing price of $3.5 million dollars… and if you look through the house tour, at some point you will ask yourself this: WHAT did they do to their floors to make them so shiny?

Is it paint?
Is it lacquer?
Is it the general patina of the physical manifestation of privilege?

You might also ask yourself: why is there a Vuitton valise displayed coyly at the end of the bed? Doesn’t this seem a little gauche and try-hard?

Do these people not understand that anyone viewing the photos knows YOU HAVE SEVEN BATHROOMS… we can see that you have already won life and can definitely afford to over-pay for a suitcase.

Molding envy aside, I was able to take a small amount of comfort that their furniture is mysteriously generic… I mean, tasteful and all, but like they bought everything from the Horchow catalog.

This is unfathomable to me, because if I could afford a $3 million home… I could also afford to fill it with the most magnificent antiques in the entire world. (Also, I could pay people to live my life for me so that I was not required to leave my house.)

Some 500 workers from Europe had labored for seven years crafting the cavernous rooms from rare marbles, mosaics, and imported woods. The ceilings –even in the bedrooms– were an astonishing 19 feet high.

26 bedrooms, 31 bathrooms, 5 art galleries… and below the basement’s Turkish baths and swimming pool, a railroad spur brought in coal for the furnace which burned 7 tons on a typical day not only for heat but also to power two elevators, the cold storage plant, the air filtration plant, and the 4,200 light bulbs.

What we think of as fragrances, or suds, or staying-power, or stain-remover; in everything from lotion, hair products, cosmetics, deodorant, candles, detergent, perfume, all-purpose cleaners… are ACTUALLY chemicals; industrial chemicals.

Just one example is the Washington University analysis of leading laundry products (detergents, dryer sheets, fabric softeners) which found MORE than 25 volatile compounds… including acetaldehyde and benzene; which are classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as carcinogens with no safe level of exposure.

Is this reasonable?
Because it does not SEEM reasonable.

If a product causes cancer, WHY do we want it in our homes, worn on our bodies, rubbed into our skin? I DO NOT KNOW THE ANSWER TO THESE QUESTIONS.

I’m not sure why no one has come up with a solution yet, but I have one: how about we JUST NOT USE TOXIC SLUDGE?

That toxic sludge has a secondary impact: in the United States, it’s tested on animals.

Did you know that EVERY country in the European Union OUTLAWS cosmetic and household-product testing on animals as cruel and unnecessary? Yet the United States continues to allow corporations to dictate our values.

There are over 80,000 ingredients that companies can choose from to formulate their products– ingredients that don’t need to be tested on animals, because they’ve already been proven to be safe.

Animal testing is funded with tax dollars, and it is a very lucrativebusiness: delivering grants to universities, huge profits to pharmaceutical and chemical corporations, and funding for government agencies.

Beagles are the most popular breed for lab use because of their friendly, docile nature… read more about Beagles in labs here... if you are a dog person, please share their article! It’s so important!

You can make a difference:

VOTE WITH YOUR PURCHASES… even though your current shampoo/laundry soap/bodywash is past the animal-testing phase, it STILL contains toxins, AND you’re still supporting a company who is in the business of testing NEW products on animals… Instead, choose to support companies whose values align with yours!

TELL OTHER PEOPLE! Educate your family and friends on the cruelty of animal-testing AND the lunacy of buying products that are toxic!

Let’s say Unilever wants to create a new oven cleaner, shampoo, or laundry detergent… NOT because the world needs more of those things, but because sales and marketing are driven by new products, advertising, and increasing market share.

For fun, Unilever decides to use some new toxic substance because they are owned by Dow chemical (which just merged with DuPont chemical)… because chemical companies are in the business of making new chemicals!

***veers into conspiracy theorist lunatic ranting***arrives at shouting about how Monsanto’s board of directors includes CO’s of Colgate-Palmolive and Procter & Gamble***shakes fists***pulls own hair***redirects***

Almost every brand sold in America is owned by one of a few BIG corporations.

Instead! CHOOSE COMPANIES WHO ARE NOT EVIL SCOURGE OF THE EARTH, (as proven by my own strong opinions and also their willingness to put carcinogens in baby shampoo.)

Educate yourself! Big corporations are in the business of SELLING YOU STUFF. They have great marketing, huge budgets for lobbying, and a core interest in profit… they have figured out that a shampoo named Herbal Essence will sell WAY BETTER than a shampoo named Chemical Solvent Also In Pesticides.

This is called “green washing.” AND IT WORKS… Until you become aware of it.

Greenwashing is the appropriation of environmental virtue by a company or industry, to create a pro-environmental image, to sell a product.

The phenomena of socially and environmentally destructive corporations, attempting to preserve and expand their markets or power by posing as friends of the environment.

You can look for the leaping bunny certification… the one on the left is the most common and they also have an app (same as above I linked… NOTE: companies who are owned by parent companies who are NOT cruelty-free are annotated with a colored square.)

Whole Foods brand shampoo/conditioner comes in a big bottle and is super cheap, (I stock up during their 4x annual 25% off body products.)

Crazy/delightful Dr. Bronners. I like almond for bathsoap/handsoap, (I cannot find a good price online… it should be about $12 for a 32oz bottle, which goes a LONG way… weirdly, the best price near me is at Bed Bath Beyond with a coupon; I go there every few months and buy all they have.)

Alright. I know you are sad this post isn’t longer with more links. But I still have one more thing to say:

Transitioning your home to a cruelty-free place, where you reduce your exposure to toxins, will take a little bit of time and research, but the benefits are huge. For you, for your family, for the animals, for the environment.

The first thing I noticed was the extraordinarily shiny floors! Thats just unnatural. BEautiful, but unnatural. And I do LOVE the sofas but I totally agree about all the rest of the furniture. Wouldn’t the world wide search for the perfect antiques be FUN!!
🙂https://gwingal.blogspot.com/

Now I love you even more. I have been buying cruelty free products for about 30 years (dates me I know). Thank you for letting your devoted readers know about these animal welfare issues. Just for that I’m not going to hold it against you that you lied about the location of your latest fabulous acquisition (although all is fair in love, war and GFT).

Thank you for using your blog to raise awareness on cruelty-free products. I’m proud that I haven’t purchased anything from any of the companies on the chart in at least 20 years – I refuse to support any of them. I buy the same brands as you or I make my own (seriously, no one needs 20 different cleaning products – vinegar, lemon, baking soda, water, boom, you’re done — and you and your pets are safe. And your wallet is fatter, leaving more money to buy GFT or whatever else floats your boat.)

Thank you for the photos of jazzy window treatments and also the info about the doggie cruelty. I hate seeing those pictures, I really super hate it. But who do they think they are, doing this? How awful in this day and age they can get away with it! Shouldn’t they be in jail somewhere, forced to drink only shampoo and breathe only poison?

Wish there were a “like” button for this post. Thanks for sharing with us so we can also benefit from your research into cruelty-free products. I’m going right by a BB&B today, so I’ll pop in and get myself some Dr. Bronners.

My dog used to do that. She’d have no idea she’d had an accident, and she’d be so confused when she woke up, like, how did this get here? After spending much $$$ at the vet, she was finally diagnosed with spay induced incontinence. Now I give her a super cheap medicine, Proin, twice a day, and she never has accidents in her sleep. Unless I forget to give her her medicine…

Anyway, not saying that’s what your dog has, but if she does it again, it’s something to look into. 🙂

The house itself looks beautiful, looks like it was decorated by someone with a lot of class anxiety. That, or (as the furniture may suggest) the house has been elaborately staged by a realtor. Are the floors photoshopped, maybe?

You know I’ve heard of companies testing on animals but I hadn’t given it much thought and assumed that was a thing of the past. How incredibly sad!! Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I will be making some purchasing changes!
Btw – those shiny floors would show every speck of dust – no thanks!

Wow. Did not see that coming. Not that I disagree…just that it’s rather a departure from Craig’s List and remodeling. Our household is full of allergies and excema so this had to be done years ago. Just a happy coincidence that using products that won’t harm you generally happen to be products no one tested on animals. Thanks for the links. Go Victoria!

We’ve been making all of our own dishwasher detergent and laundry soap (using vinegar for fabric softener) for years using non toxic ingredients and we would never go back. For regular cleaning vinegar and baking soda is all we use and I’ve been working on my own body butter recipe with coconut oil and a little castor oil whipped up in our blender – it is amazing! Once you get those toxins out of your life it is incredible how terrible they smell and make you feel, shocking what we get “used” to. I love that you’re posting about things like this!! It’s wonderful!

Love the post. Love your blog. Love Elvis. Hate the ill-treated doggie image (necessary?). But I do appreciate the overall message and wish you had provided more space to links of products to use (maybe instead of the sad doggie pic).

I rather think the photo of the gassed beagles WAS necessary. Our society is too trusting of Big Manufacturing. Shock is sometimes the ONLY way to wake people up to the cruelties being perpetrated. Horror is an excellent motivator.

Thank you for this post! I always try to buy cruelty free, but sometimes I get lazy. I needed to be reminded why it is so important to read labels and help stop animal cruelty in any way that I can. I love all of your posts, but I especially love when you blog about issues that are important to you. Off to sign the petitions now. Thanks Victoria!

I love this! I have been trying to convert all household items to non-toxic by using items from the Honest Co. It’s been harder to do beauty products. There are so many more resources and great brands to choose from now. Thanks for this, would love to see more posts on this topic.

thanks for posting this, it reminds me of real estate listings that have wet concrete driveways, to show how sparkling clean even the outside of the house is. Regarding the use of toxins, I’ve been involved in green-ing up my house and kitchen over the last several years and have saved money doing it besides. Concentrated cleaners just require dilution, even the laundry soap. And best of all, THEY DELIVER! click through to my site to order. Best decision I ever made.

Amen Victoria! Wake up everyone, Europe is bucking the multicorp trend. Why are most people so uneducated to what is being pushed on us?! Because it means asking questions and doing work to educate ourselves! Anyways that is tiring and not fun when dinner has to be made and there is hockey/baseball practice to get to. We are creating our own hell as well as the creatures. So very, very sad.